


Withdrawal

by Andwecanmessaround



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Death content warning, Death in Childbirth, F/F, Greg is a good father, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-22
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-16 14:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4628319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Andwecanmessaround/pseuds/Andwecanmessaround
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They all watched in horror as Rose's gem slowly sank into her body, and Greg grabbed her arm to stop her collapsing to the floor. Garnet didn't need her future sight to know Pearl would be unable to help - the gem was visibly frozen in horror, pale blue eyes wide and hands twitching slightly as she wrapped them around her middle as if trying to physically hold herself together. Which was ironic considering the only one in the room in any danger of physically coming apart was Garnet.</p><p>____________</p><p>None of the gems take the death of Rose well - but it hits Pearl the hardest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Rose is dead._

Garnet shuddered. The sentence seemed so… impossible. 

_Rose is dead._

Another shudder ran through her, but this time she managed to suppress it. Ruby and Sapphire reacted to shock and grief very differently, but she couldn’t afford to let herself split apart – everyone needed Garnet, not Ruby and Sapphire, right now. She’d noticed it already, the shift, in how Pearl had looked askance at her, in how Amethyst had actually listened to her. All of Rose’s responsibility had passed to her now, like a lead shawl wrapped around her shoulders, pressing down. 

_Rose Quartz is dead._  
___________________

The birth had been a traumatic experience, carried out in the empty shell of a house they’d built outside the temple, which was to be the baby’s home. They’d all been checking the house,though calling it a house was perhaps premature as it wasn’t finished yet, completely unfurnished but for a small crib and a sofa in the middle of the room. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl awkwardly stood on the bottom floor of the house trying not to think about a time when this room would be occupied by a baby rather than the pink gem, while said gem and her husband were cooing over the crib on the small upstairs space. Greg was fastening a brightly coloured hanging thing on the rafters to hang over the cot when Rose started screaming. They all watched in horror as Rose’s gem slowly sank into her body, and Greg grabbed her arm to stop her collapsing to the floor. Garnet didn’t have to use future sight to know Pearl would be unable to help – the gem was visibly frozen in horror, pale blue eyes wide and hands twitching slightly as she wrapped them around her middle - as if trying to physically hold herself together. Which was ironic considering the only one in the room in any danger of physically coming apart was Garnet. 

At the time she’d been stable though, overcoming her split second shock to move again, vaulting up to the couple and gently lifting Rose down onto the sofa then picking Amethyst up and moving back to allow Greg and Rose some space. Pearl still hadn’t moved, and Garnet returned to her side to rest a hand - from the arm not wrapped around the squirming Amethyst’s middle - on Pearl’s shoulder. Pearl looked at her with watery eyes, as if asking for permission, before suddenly turning and fleeing back to the temple. 

Rose called after her in distress as the temple door closed and Greg hastily stopped her from trying to get to her feet. 

“I could go get her,” Garnet suggested. 

“No,” Rose’s face fell “it wouldn’t be fair to put her through this.” 

Garnet agreed, Rose’s death was going to break Pearl’s heart enough anyway without her being forced to actually witness it. Rose’s gaze dropped meaningfully to Garnet’s arms. Garnet glanced down at the wriggling Amethyst, still trying to escape from the fusion’s grasp. She grabbed a note from Greg’s wallet and carried the tiny gem out with her. 

The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day. It struck Garnet as odd. Judging from the television shows they’d watched together to prepare, births happened at nighttime, usually in thunderstorms, snowstorms or heavy rain. Maybe that was just human births though.  
“Go play in the arcades for a while,” she said, setting Amethyst down and handing the note to the purple gem, who snatched it from the fusion’s hands and tore off across the beach. Garnet wished she could join them, and for a second she was tempted to just leave, go somewhere far away where she could pretend this wasn’t happening. But no, she was in charge now, and she had to be there for Rose and Greg, and for the baby. 

Steven. The couple had agreed on the name even before Rose became pregnant. Her Steven, she called him affectionately, and her eyes always lit up when she spoke of or to him. Pearl had many names for the upcoming arrival which were a lot less affectionate, ranging from the most neutral – It – to several far less savoury ones. She couldn’t really blame Pearl, in her eyes this baby was just killing the woman she loved, but she also knew that soon Pearl would grow to love this baby. Though her future vision didn’t often extend much beyond a few hours (at which point there were too many variables and it all beams muddled, hazy and confusing) it was easier when the future was so certain. In all possible permutations of the future, Pearl would love Steven, just as Garnet and Amethyst would. 

She entered the house again uncharacteristically tentatively. Rose was still there, and her face lit up as she saw Garnet. 

“We thought you’d left,” Greg said, still on the floor by Rose, pressing his lips back to the back of Rose’s hand as he finished speaking. The hand that wasn’t holding Rose’s to his mouth was on her forehead in a display of comfort. Garnet approached to kneel down at Rose’s other side. She felt Rose grip her shoulder shockingly weakly and her eyes and throat began to burn as Garnet tried to keep her composure. That was when the instability started, and Rose cupped Garnet’s face to calm the visible ripples. 

“Don’t you fall apart over me,” she joked, voice thick with tears “Ruby will scream and cry more than the baby.” 

Garnet’s mouth turned up a little at the joke, but when Rose gently took off her sunglasses all three of the gem’s eyes were misted up. Greg was holding it together for Rose’s sake, but only barely, and Garnet knew he wasn’t speaking because if he opened his mouth the pain would come out. 

“I don’t know if I can do this.” Garnet managed to force out, voice shaking. 

“You can,” Rose looked over at her husband and squeezed his hand ”I need you all to take care of each other when I’m gone, and to keep Steven safe.” 

“I’ll give him the greatest childhood he could ask for, and I’ll tell him every day how amazing you were,” Greg promised, his forehead now pressed into Rose’s shoulder, so it took him a couple of seconds to notice Rose’s stomach was starting to glow. 

“I know you will. See you later, Mr Universe,” Rose managed another smile before her eyes turned dull and her body slumped on the couch. Garnet couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe and couldn’t think, she didn’t even realise she was gripping the sofa leg until it loudly splintered into pieces in her hand.

“No,” Greg choked, and pressed his lips to Rose’s as if he could save her. When she failed to respond he tried several more times, each kiss more desperate than the last, until the glow spread to all of her body and he rocked backwards, weeping, as her form disintegrated. Usually the light from a gem’s projected body would explode outwards and disappear, but in this case the glowing intensified and concentrated inwards, until it was too bright for even Garnet’s gem eyes to look at. She turned away, and when the searing pink light had faded enough to look back, there wasn’t a trace of Rose left in existence - but for the unnaturally clean and quiet baby lying on the couch. 

_Rose is dead._

  
Amethyst returned not long after, and the three stood around the crib, gazing at the sleeping baby. Steven was so… small. Human babies were so fragile, she was scared to touch him in case she hurt him, and Greg shared her concern judging from the way he’d instantly scooped up Steven when Garnet looked at him, cradling him and softly singing to the small chubby baby even as the tears dripped down his face and raw emotion made his voice croak. Garnet was still lost, she’d just stood there as Greg took the baby to the crib, and now she silently watched as Greg pulled a blanket over the baby. There was a violent surge of emotion in her gut and for a second she let go of the tight grasp she’d been keeping on herself. The fusion panicked, but it was too late to stop themselves from splitting apart. 

_________ 

  
She opened her eyes to a fully decorated room, in pastel shades of pink and blue, filled with white furniture. She was standing in a kitchen, with a counter separating her from the rest of the room. The couch Steven had been born on was gone, and there was a new white one opposite, pressed against the far wall. She was Garnet again, she realised, though her mind was clouded and sluggish, as if she’d been asleep a thousand years. A stab of panic ran through her for a second before she reminded herself that she couldn’t have been gone for centuries, because the crib was still there - though worryingly empty. 

“Finally!” Amethyst crowed, and Garnet turned to her left to see the purple gem perched on a sofa bed by the window, looking bigger than the last time she’d seen her, but Amethyst regenerating frequently was a given, she’d probably just fallen on something sharp in the junk piles in her room again. 

“Steven?” Garnet asked urgently. 

“Just outside he’s fine.,” The fusion was opening the door before Amethyst finished her sentence. 

Sure enough, Greg was on the balcony, baby held against his chest. 

“Garnet! You’re back!” The human sighed in relief “I’m so relieved! Sapphire helped out a lot but the other one was…er…difficult. Garnet?” 

The fusion hadn’t been listening, too busy visually assessing Steven for any signs of damage or ageing, but she looked up again to meet Greg’s eyes at the sound of her name. 

“He’s ok, just didn’t like being changed so I took him out here to calm him down. Do you want to hold him?” Garnet froze at the question, and began instantly checking the future. The vast majority of possibilities agreed she wouldn’t hurt him but not all. She shook her head. Even one possibility was too many. What if she accidentally hurt Rose’s child, or worse, killed him?

“Come on, I trust you!” Greg thrust the baby out and she took him automatically, surprised at how soft he felt. Holding him was terrifying, but baby Steven shared none of her fear, and stretched his hands out to grab at her face, reaching for the glasses no doubt. Maybe she should take them off, she considered…but then what if the baby saw her eyes and died of fright? Humans could do that, she’d seen it on the television shows. They called it a heart attack and sometimes they shocked people with electricity to save them. Weirdly, zapping a dying human sometimes brought them back to life, but a healthy human could die if shocked with electricity, and they’d been given white plastic blocks to plug into all of the house’s empty sockets in case the baby touched them.

Humans were very confusing. Garnet could control lightning, but she didn’t want to have to electrocute the baby, and she was fairly certain there must be some skill involved in the process of shocking someone back to life that she didn’t know.

The glasses remained on, just in case. 

Steven cooed in her arms and she looked down at him uncertainly, but he only laughed. The sound made Garnet ache for Rose, but it also made her feel better. Everything was going to be ok. 

“How long was I gone for?” She asked.

“Around three weeks,” Garnet felt as though she’d been punched in the stomach. The baby began to cry and she realised with horror she had been squeezing him, instantly handing him back to his father, who hummed under his breath to try and calm Steven down again. For a life form equipped with such a tiny set of lungs, Steven was capable of making an incredible racket. Garnet winced as his cries increased in pitch and volume. 

“Garnet there’s something else!” Greg yelled over Steven as Garnet made a break for the door back inside, and the fusion guiltily stopped in the doorway and turned to look at Greg. “It’s about Pearl,” the baby quieted and Greg lowered his voice as he continued “she hasn’t left the temple since…you know. _It_ happened. And Amethyst can’t get up there to see her.”


	2. Chapter 2

__________________

Rose made the decision to go back shortly before they rescued Amethyst, after yet another first hand experience of how violent human nature could be. After many years of travelling the three returned to the continent the battle for Earth had been held on, nowadays known as North America. Orbital bombardment by yellow diamond’s ships had sunk huge chunks of the terrain and created orbiting islands around the continent. Parts of the land that remained were still scarred with blackened earth where no plant would grow. Other parts were rich with minerals, no doubt from the crushed gem powder that once had lain here. The battlefield itself was thick with unnaturally large vines and strawberry plants. They didn’t stay at the battlefield very long, Rose was more interested in going back to a cave along the shore they’d noticed thanks to the abundance of humans around it, on the way to the battlefield. 

The gems had seen humans with objects of worship before but this was different. Rose Pearl and Garnet had checked in on the battlefield only a couple of centuries ago, but whilst they’d been gone the settlers here had apparently composed a temple, with a statue outside that looked remarkably similar to Rose Quartz. Garnet surmised that some of their human allies had (surprisingly) managed to survive the blast somehow and built this statue, either to worship Rose or to commemorate their victory alongside her.

It was likely the occupants of this small town on the shoreline were descendants of those humans. As usual, the gem leader was instantly fascinated with the group of humans that appeared, and began giggling as they flocked to her. The three looked at each other in confusion as the humans threw themselves on the ground. Eventually some began to stand and even tentatively touch Rose’s dress, and she began warmly introducing herself and the other gems. Garnet stood with her arms folded, bored, whilst Pearl shifted awkwardly behind Rose, never as comfortable at social interaction with the natives as her lover was. 

The humans were still babbling, and pointed excitedly to the cave. Rose went inside with them indulgently, and Pearl wandered off to explore the beach alone, no doubt preparing herself emotionally to accept not being the only centre of Rose’s world once again. Garnet couldn’t decide if she felt sorry for Pearl or annoyed at her inability to communicate her unhappiness with Rose, who was always completely oblivious to the smaller gem’s sulking. 

Garnet was pulled from trying to decide whether to go after Pearl when Rose returned, alone, her mouth stretched tight and her eyes distressed. 

“It’s the core, from a gem ship. In the cave.” Rose whispered as the fusion rushed to her side. 

“Yellow diamond’s? Or ours?” Garnet wondered. 

“It doesn’t matter. It’s inactive right now, but whoever activated it…”

“…would control it.” Garnet finished, the implications sinking in. “It has to be you, Rose. These humans aren’t ready for power like this, and if Homeworld comes back it could power us a ship to escape.” 

“I’m not leaving the Earth Garnet, and we wouldn’t be welcome anywhere else in the galaxy, we don’t need a ship. But it could power a shelter for us, somewhere to live.” 

Garnet frowned. 

“You want us to stay here?” The fusion gestured out at the sea, extending out for miles, and cutting off several directions for escape should they ever need to flee. 

“If we activate this heart we’d need to stay nearby anyway to protect it, and we can’t risk leaving it inactive Garnet! There’s a warp pad in the cave too, it’s broken but Pearl can fix it, this is the perfect location for a base.” 

Rose had looked so excited at the prospect, so they’d stayed. Once they had Amethyst it had begun to feel like a home almost, more like a human family than the colder impersonal gem units. Almost. Amethyst worshipped Pearl, and Pearl worshipped Rose, and as always Garnet was left with the scraps of attention that remained once they’d all finished pining over each other. 

The local humans were decimated after blue diamond came to Earth with an elite task force, it seemed in only a few generations these humans had forgotten how to fight. Rose had been forced to fuse with Pearl, Garnet and Amethyst in the end to defeat Blue Diamond’s weaponry. The surviving humans built a statue of the 5 way fusion, then were wiped out by plague only a few decades later. They were a very fragile species, Garnet remembered thinking. But they’d helped build the gems a home.   
____________________

Since the temple’s construction, Garnet and Amethyst had changed the layout of their rooms several times. So far however, Pearl’s room had remained constant – always a still, perfectly clear, lake surrounded with no walls but underneath a high domed ceiling. A neat ring of ice circled the edge for the other gems, who couldn’t walk on the water like Pearl could. Usually an elegant staircase of ice spiralled several times down to Amethyst’s room. Sometimes the pearl would change the stair case into a huge waterslide to amuse the youngest gem, who would throw themselves down it yelling with glee. Despite envying the pair’s closeness sometimes, Garnet knew the two were good for each other. Being looked up to was a new experience for Pearl, and it had definitely helped with her self worth, and Amethyst loved spending time with Pearl. 

Garnet had counted on Amethyst’s presence helping keep the pearl together during the time Garnet had been ‘away’ but looking at the ice wall and the sharp jagged icicles jutting out, she could see why the youngest gem had been unable to approach Pearl’s room. 

Ruby and Sapphire wouldn’t be able to scale this (and Ruby probably wouldn’t even want to since she’d never gotten along with Pearl) but she was Garnet, and together she was even more powerful than the sum of her component gems. The fusion summoned her gauntlets and smashed off the ice spikes, punching holes into the ice for her to grip as she scaled up the sheer ice. 

The first thing she noticed as she pulled herself up and onto the floor was how messy everything was. Most of the lake had completely iced over, then been smashed. Large chunks of torn up ice littered the floor, with patches of water in the broken ice nearby and several long gash marks across the floor. Pearl’s only possessions - the collection of swords she’d amassed during her time on Earth - were visible in the patches of water where the ice was broken, scattered haphazardly at the bottom of the pool. As was a pearl. Not Pearl’s physical form, but her gem, lying forlornly half buried in the sand, next to a scimitar. 

Garnet stopped, and tried to force herself to relax. Closing her eyes and opening her mind, she let herself navigate the pathways that would follow this decision.   
_______________

Garnet turned and walked away, leaving Pearl to her mourning. The pearl would regenerate eventually. 

A few weeks passed, with still no change. Amethyst grew restless and difficult, jealous of all the attention baby Steven was receiving while she was left alone for long periods of time. Garnet knew something was seriously wrong the day Amethyst left slamming the door, but she was preoccupied with looking after Steven. Greg and Steven would only be living in this house until Steven was big enough to sleep in the van safely, and Garnet was determined to spend every moment she could with the half gem that she could. When Amethyst still hadn’t returned by nightfall, Garnet didn’t need future vision to know where the purple gem was, and headed to the kindergarten resignedly. She lifted the sleeping Amethyst off a large rock and carried her in her arms back to the warp pad. As Garnet wearily laid Amethyst down in the middle of a pyramid of pillows (and other assorted soft things the smallest gem had collected) in the Amethyst’s room, she cast a longing look upwards. 

Checking on Pearl again wouldn’t do any harm, Garnet supposed. Surely by now she would have regenerated? Pearl was known for taking longer to regenerate than other crystal gems – Garnet remembered the days after battles where Rose had carried the Pearl with her everywhere until finally her most devoted follower returned to her in a flash of light and Rose’s smile shone almost as bright – but Pearl had never taken this long to regenerate. The gem still lay inactive in the same spot at the bottom of the pool. Garnet considered getting the gem out of the lake and taking Pearl back to her own room, but eventually decided against it. If Pearl wanted to return she would regenerate, she clearly wanted to be left alone.

There was a glow beneath the ice and Garnet held her breath, stopping to turn back. 

“Pearl?” She called as the glow faded, working to keep her voice level. No response. Garnet rose to her feet. “Pearl it’s just me! Are you ok?” 

The ice beneath her feet exploded as a monstrous white creature erupted from the lake. Garnet was thrown backwards, too surprised to catch herself before she hit the far wall. Hard. Dazedly she looked up, to a scale and feathered creature with a lean frame, perched on the balls of all four of its feet. Three ivory claws extended from each reptilian foot, tapering to a point. Garnet’s gaze travelled upward, past its feathered torso and chest to a long slightly curved beak, set beneath two frosty blue eyes. 

Garnet’s heart sank. 

_“Pearl?”_


End file.
